1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink-jet head for discharging ink to perform printing on a recording medium, and an ink-jet recording apparatus including this ink-jet head.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an ink-jet recording apparatus (ink-jet printer), an ink-jet head distributes ink supplied to a manifold from an ink tank to plural pressure chambers, and selectively applies pulse-like pressure to the respective pressure chambers so that the ink is discharged from nozzles. As means for selectively applying pressure to the pressure chambers, there is a case where an actuator unit is used in which plural piezoelectric sheets made of ceramic are laminated.
As an example of such an ink-jet head, there is one which includes an actuator unit including plural continuous flat plate piezoelectric sheets extending over plural pressure chambers (for example, see JP-A-2002-19102 (FIG. 1)). In this ink-jet head, between the plural laminated piezoelectric sheets of the actuator unit, there are arranged a common electrode common to the many pressure chambers and kept at the ground potential, and individual electrodes arranged at positions corresponding to the respective pressure chambers, that is, drive electrodes. Further, surface electrodes connected to the common electrode and the individual electrodes are formed on the upper surface of the uppermost piezoelectric sheet. A flexible printed circuit for electrically connecting the surface electrodes and a power supply part is disposed on the upper surface of the uppermost piezoelectric sheet. Accordingly, voltage is applied between the common electrode and the individual electrodes by the power supply part via the flexible printed circuit and the surface electrodes, so that distortion occurs in the piezoelectric sheets included in the actuator unit and ink is discharged.